Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Opens Season At Kennesaw State This Weekend
February 17, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens the 2011 season this weekend with a three-game series at Kennesaw State in Kennesaw, Ga. ... The Cardinals are coming off of a 29-29 overall record last year and were picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll ... The Owls are coming off a 23-32 record last spring and were tabbed to finish eighth in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
This weekend's series marks the first meeting all-time between Ball State and Kennesaw State ... The Cardinals are scheduled to play two series against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference as they travel to Belmont March 18-20.
New Man In Charge . . .
Alex Marconi was named the ninth head coach in Ball State history this offseason after spending the past five years as an assistant coach with the Cardinals ... Marconi replaced Greg Beals at the helm of the program after Beals was named the head coach at Ohio State ... During his time at Ball State he helped the Cardinals win the 2006 Mid-American Conference Tournament and appear in the NCAA Tournament while also aiding BSU to the 2009 MAC West Division title.
Marconi also filled out his coaching staff this season by bringing in Jeremy Plexico as pitching coach and promoting Pete Milas to assistant coach after he spent last season as a volunteer assistant coach ... Former Cardinal left-hander Eric Van Matre joins the coaching staff this season as the volunteer assistant coach.
Cardinals Picked Fourth In MAC West . . .
Ball State was selected to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll ... The Cardinals finished last season with a 29-29 overall record and a 19-8 mark in MAC play as they finished tied for second place in the MAC West Division ... Ball State will have numerous spots to fill on the roster this season as it lost its 3-4-5-6 hole hitters as well as its Friday and Sunday starters to graduation and the Major League Baseball Draft.
Defending MAC Tournament champion Kent State was selected to finish first in the MAC East Division while defending regular season champion Central Michigan was tabbed for the top spot in the MAC West Division ... Additionally, Kent State was selected as the favorite for the 2011 MAC Tournament.
West Division
1. Central Michigan (69)
2. Toledo (60)
3. Eastern Michigan (46)
4. Ball State (37)
5. Northern Illinois (26)
6. Western Michigan (12)
East Division
1. Kent State (72)
2. Miami (53)
3. Bowling Green (50)
4. Ohio (35)
5. Akron (24)
6. Buffalo (16)
MAC Tournament: Kent State (5), Central Michigan (3), Toledo (2), Miami (1), Eastern Michigan (1).
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will use multiple pitchers during the opening weekend but will send junior right-hander Cal Bowling to the hill Friday, senior left-hander Derek Grabner will get the call Saturday and freshman right-hander T.J. Weir takes the mound Sunday ... Kennesaw State will counter with right-hander Josh Carr Friday, right-hander Bryan Blough Saturday and left-hander Zak Griffith Sunday.
Bowling gets the opening day nod as he is the Cardinals' lone returning weekend starter ... He led the Cardinals with six wins last season as the team's Saturday starter posting a 6-3 record with a 5.97 ERA ... He made 16 appearances and started 15 game last season while working 72.1 innings ... He posted 39 strikeouts and walked 30 batters.
Grabner made 25 appearances last season as the Cardinals' top reliever ... He posted a 5-3 record with a 4.77 ERA in 54.2 innings of work ... He recorded 40 strikeouts and walked just 16 batters on the season ... He will be making just his second career start after pitching primarily out of the bullpen last spring.
Weir, a 6-0 freshman for Kokomo, Ind., will be making his first career start for the Cardinals Sunday afternoon ... He posted a 6-1 record with a 2.20 ERA last season as a senior when he was named the North Central Conference Athlete of the Year ... He earned First Team All-Conference honors in baseball, basketball and football.
Kennesaw State will send Carr to the hill Friday afternoon ... He made 14 appearances and 12 starts last spring for the Owls and posted a 3-2 record with a 6.75 ERA ... He worked 66.2 innings in 2010 and struck out 45 batters while walking 18.
Blough will take the ball Saturday for the Owls ... He made 11 appearances with six starts last spring while posting a 2-3 record with a 10.29 ERA ... He tossed 28.0 innings and struck out 22 batters while also walking 22.
Griffith rounds out the Kennesaw State rotation Sunday after making 17 appearances with six starts last year ... He posted a 2-3 record with a 6.14 ERA for the Owls as he tossed 55.2 innings ... He struck out 38 and walked 21 batters last spring.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State returns 18 letterwinners from last season's 29-29 overall record and 19-8 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals will have to replace their 3-4-5-6 hold hitters and their Friday and Sunday starters from the rotation due to graduation and the Major League Baseball Draft.
Senior shortstop T.J. Baumet leads the team offensively as he posted a .337 batting average with 12 doubles, a triple and nine home runs ... Baumet also led the team with 26 stolen bases and scored 58 runs ... Sophomore Blake Beemer returns after posting a .328 batting average with 63 hits as a freshman ... Sophomore Stephen Claypool also returns after recording a .318 batting average while junior Cody Elliott posted seven home runs and 13 stolen bases last spring.
On the mound, right-hander Cal Bowling returns to the weekend rotation after posting a 6-3 record with a 5.97 ERA ... Left-hander Derek Grabner returns after making 25 appearances last year with a 4.77 ERA ... Fellow southpaw Jon Cisna also is back in the bullpen after making 23 appearances with a 4.28 ERA.
Scouting The Owls . . .
Kennesaw State is coming off a 23-32 record last season and a 12-15 mark in the Atlantic Sun ... The Owls return 19 letterwinners from last season's team including All-America catcher Ronnie Freeman ... Freeman, a sophomore, posted a .365 batting average with 77 hits last spring ... He tallied nine home runs and drove in 47 runs.
Drew Fowlkes returns as the Owls' top power hitter with 12 home runs ... Fowlkes posted 45 RBI and scored 37 runs last spring ... Peyton Hart also returns after posting a .293 batting average with 58 hits.
On the mound, Josh Carr returns to the rotation after posting a 3-2 record with a 6.75 ERA in 66.2 innings of work ... Closer B.J. Johnson made 27 appearances last year and posted a 5-2 record with four saves ... Johnson turned in a 4.12 ERA in 39.1 innings of work.
Top Rated Arms . . .
The Cardinals received some preseason honors from the CollegeBaseballInsider.com in its annual Mid-American Conference preview ... Senior shortstop T.J. Baumet was chosen by the league's head coaches to have the best infield arm in the MAC ... Also, junior outfielder Cody Elliott was tabbed with the best outfield arm in the MAC.
Cardinals Name Team Captains . . .
First-year head coach Alex Marconi has named three team captains for the 2011 season in senior shortstop T.J. Baumet and sophomore right fielder Blake Beemer ... Baumet has been the team's starting shortstop since his freshman season ... He posted a .337 batting average last spring while leading the team with 26 stolen bases ... Beemer claimed control of the right field starting position last year and recorded a .328 batting average in 45 starts as a true freshman.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State continues its season-opening 15-game road swing next weekend as the Cardinals travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for a three-game series against Southeast Missouri State.
